Built in the traditional style, the Toum Tiou was christened in 2002 on the river at Phnom Penh, the first Cambodian cruise boat with international standard accommodation.

Fully-paneled in wood, with charm and comfort in mind, we designed it in keeping with the local style. Modestly sized and with the safety of a steel hull, its low draught makes it possible for the boat to access the smallest of villages. With the tasteful decoration of a bygone era, it has 10 cozy double cabins with private shower, a large lounge area, a panoramic viewing space to the front, a half-covered bar-restaurant to the rear and a roof patio. Air conditioning, hi-fi system and library are provided. The captain, boat hands, hostesses, cooks and boat master are quiet and insonspicuous in the performance of their duties.

The legend of Toum and Tiou

The Toum Tiou derives its name from a traditional Khmer tale of star-crossed lovers, the Cambodian equivalent of Romeo and Juliet, Toum being the boy and Tiou, the girl. This beautiful love story turned tragedy features Tiou's mother, an ambitious woman who wants to marry her daughter off to the king and Toum as the awkward lover. The king, good-hearted and understanding, eventually gives up on the marriage to make Tiou happy. It ends tragically when a frame-up involving the mother and the governor leads to the death of one of the two lovers, the other committing suicide to follow suit. This story is taught from primary to high school. Many songs and pieces of traditional music allude to the pair of ill-fated lovers.

Construction

This traditional locally built boat started out as a freighter with a metal hull and a capacity of 150 tons, with two large but low-ceiling decks in order to maximize storage space. Like all boats of this type, it went up and down the Tonle Sap and Mekong, stopping at Siem Reap, Kompong Cham, Kratie and Stung Treng. We stayed as close as we could to the original line of the boat, because we wanted to retain its slightly curved and elegant lines.

The Toum Tiou is 38 meters long and 6.5 meters wide in the middle. It has 10 rooms in all (3.3 m x 2.5 m), 4 on the first deck and 6 on the second, each air-conditioned and with a bathroom (2.5 m x 1.4 m) including toilet, shower and sink. The water on board is taken from the river, passed through a powerful filtration system and chlorinated in the final step of the treatment.

In order to make the best possible use of the common areas from the standpoint of both size and variety we have installed a library-reading room on the lower deck. There is also a covered space at the front of the middle deck, a restaurant to the rear anda half-covered sundeck on top

Itinerary

Day 1: Ho chi minh – My Tho ( L,D )
07:45 Toum Tiou is open for embarking.
08:00 Clearance of departure formalities. Security briefing.
08:30 Departure for My Tho. Safety briefing. Morning relaxation,
lunch during the crossing of the splendid channel of Cho Gao.
16:30: Arrival to My Tho. Toum Tiou II drops anchor in proximity of the Island Thoi Son. My Tho,
“Good Grass Scented” according to the translation is a quiet and prosperous city,
approximately 100 000 inhabitants, known for its many orchards rice plantations. The climate is hot and pleasant all the year. This countryside-site has the most variable fruit collection of Vietnam (coconuts, banana trees, mango trees).
Local boats take the passengers from the boat to onshore, departure for the Vinh Trang pagoda by bus, on the way short visit of the city and the local market of My Tho. Visit of the local zoo. Later passengers come back to the small boats, navigation to the Island Thoi. Walking on the island, exploration of the everyday life, tasting of the seasonal fruits, lessoning the local musician band, visit of the candy factory, shopping of the local products. (The visit of My Tho is depend of the level of the traffic on the channel of Cho Gao which can cause considerably delay (+ 2 hours) the arrival to My Tho.)
19:00: Embarking, welcome cocktail, presentation of the crew. Toum Tiou II leaves to Cai Be
Welcome dinner and night onboard.

Day 2: My tho – Vinh Long – Cai be – Sadec – Chau Doc ( B, L,D )
07:00: Breakfast
08:00: Toum Tiou II drops anchor on the river near Cai Be. Local boats take the passengers to visit
the floating market, discover the brick manufacturers and pottery, the seedbed of fruit trees of the Island Binh Hoa Phuoc while passing by and visiting a traditional house of a local farmer. Vinh Long, the “Majestic Dragon” according to the translation, is located at the center of the areas of the delta, embraced by two arms of Mekong. The life was organized around and with water. Houses on pile, trade in boat, hundreds boats which pass each other in all the directions. The hospitality of the inhabitants makes this place unique tourist site.
12:30: Return to Toum Tiou II, departure for Sa Dec. Lunch during navigation.
15:00: Arrival to Sa Dec, panoramic tour of the city. Visit the market then turn to the city by bus. On
the way visit the primary school Trung Vuong and the pagoda Kien Year Cung. In this authentic town of 30.000 inhabitants, passengers can experience the environment of a small city of the delta where still can be felt the colonial atmosphere along with the “House of the Chinese” (of the novel The Lover of Marguerite Duras, also adapted to a movie).
17:00: Return to the boat after a stop in a seedbed of bonsai. Famous for its horticulture (large
variety of exotic flowers) Sa Dec was called at the colonial time “the garden of Cochinchine”.
18:30: Toum Tiou II leaves Sa Dec, night navigation to Chau Doc.
Dinner and night onboard.

Day 3 : Chau doc – Koh Dek Chau ( B, L,D )
04:30: Departure of the boat early the morning towards Chau Doc.
07:00: Arrival to the pier of the hotel Victoria Chau Doc, breakfast in the restaurant of the hotel.
08:30: Chau Doc is located in the middle of a gigantic squaring of rice plantations, while the city itself
is prosperous, developing, over-populated with some amazing colonial buildings. Departure in local boats to visit the village of the Cham minority, with its fish farm. After that bus tour to the downtown and visit the colorful local market. With a few kilometers away, the hill of Harmed Sam “climbs up” to 237 m and offers its famous Buddhist sanctuaries with an unspoiled view of the rice plantations. On the way visit the temple of Chua Xu and the pagoda Tay An.
12:00: Departure for the border, Vinh Xuen, lunch on board
14:30: Toum Tiou II arrives at the border, formalities
17:30: The boat leaves the border towards to Phnom Penh
19:00: Toum Tiou II remains moored for the night in the island Koh Dek Chau. Dinner and night on
board.